Marinas differ. My marina has no security--you'll be hard pressed to
even find anyone employed by the marina around. On the other hand, we
have a camaraderie between boat owners on my pier, a couple of
live-aboards, and several folks who are at the boat quite frequently,
even on "school nights". We keep an eye out for each others boat. If
we lock our boats, we use combination locks so that a fellow slip owner
can check on our boat. Just last week someone called me to inquire if
I had intentionally left my boat unplugged. On the other hand, when I
was on the hard in a different, larger marina, I had security follow me
to my boat every time I drove in to check on things. If I wanted to
drive around the marina to look at the different boats and different
work people were doing, there was security again. They were nice, but
distant, and a constant reminder of--I don't know of what. I was not
doing anything wrong, but I still felt uncomfortable. Even some of the
marina shipswrights expressed some discomfort towards the security--and
they have every right to expect that their shops stay secure!

If you lock your boat more securely, then the problem will likely move
to someone else's boat. Have you considered discussing this with
fellow slip owners, and asking those around your boat to "keep an eye
out"? Some larger marinas in this area have also instituted a "marina
watch" program. Sometimes a big show of a small effort will deter
possible "perps". If it happens regularly, perhaps a little extra
effort and a few extra trips to the boat by a few fellow ship owners,
along with a few signs, may yield results; at least, increased
"legitimate" traffic may deter illegitimate ones.

It's sad that sometimes people take advantage of a less "policed" or
self-policed situation.

Good luck!

mickey